I thought he was joking. The guy with the ice cream bicycle-wagon is here, loaded down with popsicles and fudge bars, for the June Critical Mass Bike ride.
Cool.
The chilled bulgy white front end, the tinkling bells that trigger Pavlovian responses in kids running with money in their fists, yes, the ice-cream man is going to lead the ride.
His presence draws a mother and her seven-year-old son and 10 year-old daughter; they notice the cyclists gathering at the corner of Locke and King in Victoria Park and join in their first ever mass bike ride.
Sweet.
It’s Friday afternoon and the last of the pent-up car drivers are streaming out of the downtown, released at the end of day one of the Canadian Cycling Championship Race weekend, and the shock of temporary road closures. Three police officers direct traffic at Locke and King. Cars are backed up down the Main East 403 exit ramp.
The transition from the exodus of bike race spectators in their cars to the Critical Mass cyclists taking the street goes smoothly, as if cued.
Mass regular Gord arrives bearing stickers that read "breathe" and hands them around to eager cyclists. The message is stuck on to bikes, backs and, in a cheeky juxtaposition loaded with double entendre, on the back of a bike seat.
Close to 6:00 p.m. the ice-cream laden bike pulls out onto Locke, followed by 35 cyclists, bells jangling.
It’s a charmed ride, the weather perfect after days of intense heat and killer smog.
Even the response from motor vehicle drivers seems more upbeat this time. There are no obvious threats from car drivers, unlike previous rides where people have road raged or driven aggressively to challenge the cyclists’ right to be on the road together.
Perhaps there is a symbiotic relationship between the bike racing event and people’s tolerance and awareness about cycling in the city.
The ride eventually covers Locke to York, York to John, John to King, and King back to Victoria Park with a detour via Queen/Main/Hess to make the ride past crowded patios in Hess Village.
Unlike the spectacle of elite bike races, Critical Mass bike rides give everyone on two-wheels the opportunity to participate, to be part of the spectacle.
And unlike a race, the point of the Mass is to stay together, to share, talk and most importantly, ride together on city streets.
Cruising back into Victoria park happy cyclists share a cheer, and settle on shady spots beneath leafy trees to continue the spirit of the ride with a picnic.
The ice-cream man is sweaty but happy after doing the ride with his frozen 600 pound payload, but as cyclists line-up for some cold sweets, his load is quickly getting lighter.